Newbie help please

[AstroPete]

Sorry, I’m sure people come here asking for pointers all the time! I’m hoping someone can help.

I started “weight training” properly this year in that I gave up on cardio and just focused on weights 4x a week. I have low bone density and limited time, plus I run really lean and all cardio at 42 years old makes me look a bit unwell tbh.

I’m using home gym without a PT so just figuring it out as I go. I’ve been doing reps 12 x 4 to near failure. If I want to move up a weight, I should be able to do 6 reps before failure and how many sets?

Also, does anyone have protein tips please? I am using the MyFitnessPal app and aiming for 90g of protein per day (current weight 47kg, target weight 50kg, I’m 5ft2). I am struggling. I’ve been having 2 protein shakes per day plus meals but I’m forcing food down and it doesn’t feel sustainable.

I wish I’d discovered lifting when I was younger, I’ve seen massive gains in wellbeing in a fraction of the time!

Ah bugger I should have posted this on the support thread!

Hi OP

So, to be clear I am not a PT but I have been paying for coaching for a while and picked up a few tips along the way

Personally, to build strength I would aim for 4 sets of 12 reps rather than the other way around. The right weight will feel challenging for the last few reps, while still allowing you to do the exercise with good form. Once that becomes easier, move up!

As regards protein intake, include all the sources you can think of, variety makes it easier if you're not a big eater (Greek yogurt, tuna, beans, meats, milk, tofu, etc)

Good luck! 😊

Are you veggie, OP?

What kind of foods do you like @AstroPete ?
Personally I have a similar protein target to you, and I try and aim to split it into 3x30g spread throughout the day. If I get something in at breakfast it's much easier. So for example a fruity protein yogurt with flaked almonds at breakfast, baked potato and tuna at lunch and chicken & chickpea curry in the evening. I'm guessing if you're starting at 47kg you won't have been eating a lot before, so perhaps try and build up to that amount slowly, and allow your appetite to adjust.

Agh sorry I've just seen these replies! Thanks @PenelopeTheShroudWeaver yes I'm doing 4 sets of 12 reps. For some exercises I seem to be getting stuck though. Like shoulder press I'm stuck at 20kg, I'm at failure in the last few reps and have been for weeks. But squats I seem to be moving up quite quickly. I've just moved up to 40kg and not getting to failure on the 4th set.... but my knees hurt afterwards so don't want to push it up too quickly!

@Watchkeys and @Proteinpudding no I'm not veggie but yes you're right I've been used to not eating enough. Both breakfast and lunch used to be quite small so that's something I've had to change. I had a good read of the support thread and realised I've been being very unimaginative with protein. I've added things like high protein cereal, yogurt, whole tins of tuna etc as well as the protein shakes and I'm managing the protein target now.

Protein portion the size of the palm of your hand with each meal (if you eat x3 per day) and one protein snack. Done.

That does depend on your goals though, it definitely wouldn't be enough for me

It's perfectly normal for progression not to be linear. Some exercises will plateau at different points from others, depending on how strong this particular muscle group is, your training history, your other activities outside the gym, etc.

You'll be able to ride the newbie gains a lot more for leg exercises. Quads, hamstrings and glutes are large muscles, which all work together for squats, so they can take a lot more stimulus compared to other muscle groups.

Shoulder presses use comparatively smaller muscles, and are less likely to be well developed in beginners (not many daily activities stimulate your shoulders, whereas your legs are used to walk, climb stairs etc.). So you will fatigue sooner and find it harder to keep adding weight.

Just give it time OP, and don't feel like you need to progress week-on-week because that's not sustainable for very long. Track your progress over longer periods of time by writing everything down (or using a tracking app)

I was advising OP, @PenelopeTheShroudWeaver , not you.

Thanks @Watchkeys that’s a good way to think about it, prior to this I was mostly only eating protein at dinner.

@PenelopeTheShroudWeaver I’ll have a look at tracking apps, thank you. Is there a particular app that you’d recommend? I do need to stop expecting linear progression, and going back to the beginning of the year I’ve progressed a fair bit, which I tend to forget when I’m getting inpatient!

OK, I didn't phrase this right. What I was trying to get across is that measuring against the palm of one's hand is fairly arbitrary and unless you know the size of OP's hand it's difficult to know whether that's enough. It can definitely be useful as a point of reference when eating outside the home, but you can't be sure that you're hitting your protein goals unless you weigh your food, particularly in OP's case who is looking to gain and new at this.

In my case I know it's not enough, but I do not know OP so I merely meant that it may not be a very useful way of measuring.

It's really useful for most newbies, @PenelopeTheShroudWeaver , and has been useful for OP. Not here to convince you, so let's leave it there.

@AstroPete there are plenty of free apps out there so you may find one you like better, but the one I use is called FitNotes. It's very basic but that means it's really fast, there's a good list of exercises already pre-loaded and it takes seconds to create new ones if needed

Fair enough, we're both just trying to help 😊

It's certainly useful to get consistency with the basics before trying to perfect things. If OPs starting point is 47kg then I think it's safe to say that a palm size item of protein at every meal is going to be an improvement on their previous diet, and a realistic goal.

@PenelopeTheShroudWeaver for tracking apps for weights, fitnotes is good, personally I use 'strong' - it's very basic but if you just want to track exercises, weight, reps quickly it works well. If you want advice about exercise/example workouts there are more out there, though they tend to charge.